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Knowledge Base

This wiki provides background on US wholesale electricity markets, ISO-specific data formats, and the trading conventions used by ProgridPy. It is intended as a reference for developers and analysts working with the library.

Primer: US Wholesale Electricity Markets

The US wholesale electricity grid is managed by Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs). These entities operate competitive markets where generators sell electricity and load-serving entities purchase it. The two primary market products are:

  • Day-Ahead (DA) market -- Financially binding hourly commitments cleared the day before the operating day.
  • Real-Time (RT) market -- Settles deviations from day-ahead commitments at 5-minute or 15-minute intervals.

Virtual traders (financial participants with no physical assets) can submit offers (supply) and bids (demand) in the day-ahead market and settle against real-time prices. This is the core activity that ProgridPy supports.

Prices are expressed as Locational Marginal Prices (LMPs), which vary by node and comprise three components: energy, congestion, and losses.

Sections

Markets

Fundamentals of electricity markets and ISO-specific structure:

  • Electricity Markets 101 -- ISOs, DA vs. RT markets, LMP components, virtual trading, and settlement.
  • MISO Market Mechanics -- MISO data types, profit calculations, dead nodes, clearing rules, and arbitration.
  • SPP Market Rules -- SPP settlement locations, price limits, RT data assembly, and virtual trading mechanics.
  • ERCOT Market Overview -- ERCOT market structure, settlement point types, DST handling, and available data.

Data Formats

Raw data download specifications and API response structures:

  • MISO Data Formats -- RT 5-min rolling LMP API, aggregation logic, and file naming.
  • SPP Data Formats -- LMP forecast, load forecast/actual, and resource forecast/actual download details.
  • Enverus NRF API -- Renewable forecast API usage, model run times, and data structure.

Trading

Operational procedures and metrics definitions:

  • Metrics Conventions -- Sign conventions, formulas, edge cases, and testing invariants for all financial metrics.
  • MISO Trading SOP -- Standard operating procedure for MISO day-ahead virtual trading.
  • SPP Trading SOP -- Standard operating procedure for SPP day-ahead virtual trading.